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Story Notes:
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
This story takes place in an alternate universe, where after Shawn graduated, he left Santa Barbara and didn’t return until 2002, and while he was gone he did not contact anyone on any sort of regular basis. While we don’t have an official timeline for what Shawn did during the years between graduation and Psych, (or do we? Let me know) it definitely didn’t happen like this.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Rachel Wilkes arrives in town, leaving Gus wondering how much he actually knows about his best friend's life.
1991:

Shawn hid outside the kitchen, trying to remain unnoticed as he eavesdropped on his parents arguing. “Henry, you can’t keep doing this to yourself!” Maddie begged.

Henry didn’t take too kindly to her words. “Doing what to myself, Maddie? Doing my job?”

Maddie’s answering laugh was hollow. “This is not your job, Henry. You can’t solve this case, the Chief closed it a month ago and you’re still jumping up and down like a madman whenever something similar happens, claiming that it must be the same case, that it’s a new lead. Well guess what? It’s not! Pull yourself together, Henry, and learn when to give up.”

“I’m not a quitter.”

Maddie shook her head, upset. “Well maybe sometimes you should be. Have you thought about the example you’re setting for your son?”

This made Henry take pause for a moment. “You’re right. I’m sorry, Maddie. I won’t go near this case again.”

“And if you think you find new evidence?”

Shawn hung back, waiting in anticipation to his father’s response.

“I’ll let someone else deal with it.”

“Thank you,” Maddie breathed, and leaned forward to kiss him.

Shawn wrinkled his nose and crept back to his room, neither of his parents noticing him.

2010

“Gus, I am shocked that you would think such a thing of me! Of course it was completely necessary” Shawn defended himself, standing defensively in front of his latest purchase.

Gus shook his head in disbelief. “We don’t even have a bird, Shawn! Why would we need a bird cage?”

Shawn held a hand in the air to silence his friend's protests. “That’s where you’re wrong. We do have a bird. Well, will have a bird. Tomorrow. When I go pick it up. So I guess you’re right at the moment, we don’t need a cage, but I thought it might be best if we had someplace to keep it when we did eventually get it and so I bought the cage. By the way, Gus, how hard do you think it is to train a carrier pigeon?”

“You bought a carrier pigeon? What were you thinking Shawn!”

“I was thinking,” Shawn proclaimed as he sat down in the office chair and steepled his fingers together. “Of all the money we’ll save in postage. I was thinking of our finances. Surely you can see that?”

“I can’t believe this Shawn. You do know that we’ll have to feed it, right? And we can’t pay for food with magic fairy dust.”

Shawn perked up, suddenly sitting straight up in his chair. “Ooh, we have magic fairy dust? Where is it?”

“Excuse me?” interrupted a voice before Gus could respond.

Gus glared at Shawn then turned his attention to the customer standing in the doorway. She looked to be in the early twenties, and had long blonde hair fastened into plaits on either side of her head. Her left arm was covered almost entirely by an array of watches, and her eyes were obscured by large darkened lenses.

“How can we help you, miss?” Gus asked politely.

“I was hoping you could find someone for me, actually,” the girl responded.

Shawn looked at her a moment, seemingly deep in thought. Gus went to respond to their potential customer, but Shawn hushed him, holding one hand to his head, and the other in the air. “I’m getting something. There’s… a church, no it’s a cross. But, it’s not a cross… it’s more something that looks like a cross. And it’s made out of rainbows… no, stars.“

“The Southern Cross?” asked Gus in confusion.

Shawn nodded. “And I see sunshine, tropical thunderstorms and a great barren land. And from the barren land, I see a girl. It’s you, emerging from that hell in search of a man with great hair. Me. Already found. What else do you want, Rachel?”

The girl threw off her sunglasses and pouted. “Damn! What gave me away?” she asked, curiously. Gus watched in befuddlement, not quite sure how the girl knew Shawn, noticing that this time when she spoke it was with a distinct accent.

Shawn tilted his head to the side and looked at her. “You are seriously asking me that? Do you doubt the spirits, Rachel? That offends them, and me, deeply.”

The girl rolled her eyes. “Oh, give it up Shawn. You know that I know that you’re not psychic.”

“Okay fine. Your first mistake was the sunglasses. Seriously, who wears sunglasses inside? I might have bought that you forgot to take them off after being outside, but you chose the only overcast day in this century to show up. Second, the accent. Never, ever try that again. It was painful.”

“I didn’t think it was that bad, Shawn.” Gus interrupted. He hadn’t noticed anything until she’d reverted to her native Australian accent.

Shawn shrugged. “Okay, so maybe it wasn’t, but I need revenge, Gus, revenge! Every time I try to do an Australian accent she says the same thing. And no, it is not painful. It is in fact a very good accent. Mine, that is. Not hers.”

“Shawn,”

“Right,” Shawn continued. “Your third mistake was more of a genetic misfortune. You can’t honestly think I forgot what your sister looked like? You look exactly like her when she, well. You know what I mean.”

Rachel nodded, a morose look on her face.

“And, drum roll please Gus,” reluctantly, Gus performed a drum roll on the desk. “The watches. Come on, Rach. You have got to be the only person in the history of this world who wears more than one watch at once.”

Rachel raised an eyebrow at that pronouncement, which Shawn fastidiously ignored.

“Anyway, Gus, this is Rachel Wilkes, Rach, this is my partner Reginald Pompington the third.”

Rachel smiled and held out her hand to meet Gus’. “Nice to meet you, Burton.”

Shawn pouted. “No fun, Rach!”

Smirking, Rachel held her arms out, and Shawn stood up and wrapped her in a hug. For a moment it seemed like each was trying to squeeze the life out of the other.

“So how do you two know each other?” Gus asked when the two finally let go of one another.

Before Rachel could say anything, Shawn cut in. “Nothing for you to worry about, Gus. So tell me Rachel, what are you doing here?”

A shy smile spread across the girl’s face. “I was hoping my favourite pineapple picker would have a place for me to stay. Maybe he’d like to show me the sights of Santa Barbara?”

“There’s not that much to see in Santa Barbara,” Shawn countered.

“What if I sweeten the deal?”

“Sweeten how?”

Rachel pulled off her backpack and started rummaging through it, as Gus frowned. “You never told me you worked on a pineapple farm!”

“Don’t be a half cooked egg. Of course I’ve worked on a pineapple farm.”

Having finished rummaging in her bag, Rachel presented Shawn with a neatly wrapped parcel, bright red curling ribbon tied decoratively around the brown paper wrapping.

Shawn grabbed the parcel and held it against his ear, shaking. “Kangaroo paste!” he announced. “Of course you can stay with me!”

Rachel gave a small grin as Shawn wrapped an arm around her shoulder, and began to give her the grand tour of the office. Gus was left sitting in a chair, feeling oddly confused.
Chapter End Notes:
Let me know what you think. What was good, what could do with more work were the characters in character etc.


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